Charlotte was unsure of what to make of Scott's claims. The ability to throw metal that far and fast was likely an exaggeration of some sort, though that didn't mean whatever he was talking about was without its dangers, particularly if they combined that technology with fire of some sort. And the bomb he mentioned seemed even more like one of Alice's "let's pretend" games. She was aware of several chemical combinations that could have a similar effect to his claims, but few of these chemicals existed in nature in any significant volumes, and they were so unstable it was hard to imagine humans being capable of storing and moving them safely. Even using all the tool user's clever tricks, such a feat seemed improbable, though She shouldn't discount the idea entirely. Besides, if there really were anywhere near as many humans as Scott claimed, they'd be a threat with far more primitive tools just by virtue of numbers alone.

In short, even if all of Scott's claims were exaggerated, these humans could still threaten her colony. And if he wasn't exaggerating? Well, as unlikely as the idea was, this might just be the most dangerous planet in the galaxy. There's a good chance that the council of She would seek to wipe such a planet from existence.

Come to think of it, if this was the case, perhaps Charlotte should start preparing for a planet-sized conflict. Since expanding their reach to space, the She's rarely had a conflict on such a scale any longer, and Charlotte herself had certainly never participated in such an event, but in an emergency, She was capable of such a feat, though it would take a significant amount of time and resources to prepare for.

But thinking of Alice and Scott, Charlotte found she didn't particularly enjoy the idea of going to war with the whole species. Setting aside her feelings for these two particular humans, laying waste to such an advanced species of tool users from whom She could learn so much would be a tragic waste. Besides, if what he claimed was true, only a few of his people were a danger to Charlotte. She should prepare for conflict, but on a much smaller scale for now. A small skirmishing force, the likes of which She might use to test the ingenuity of another She should suffice, at least for now. Either way, it was probably best to prepare for rapid development and evolution in the near future...

-

Once again, Scott found himself following behind another of Charlotte's spiders after leaving Alice in her care. Say what you will about giant-spider-mantis-monster-hybrids; if they're willing to play hopscotch because a five-year-old girl asked nicely, they're probably a better babysitter than most random strangers, and Charlotte was definitely a better option than bringing her along to scout out whatever is going on at their old camp.

Before leaving, Scott had dried plenty of food, both for him to take and for Alice to eat while he was gone. And this time, he was at least in contact with the camp via what he now thought of as Charlotte's walky-talky. The spider mouth was still somewhat unsettling, but it was definitely the lesser of two evils right now.

Scott was a little surprised to see how far they'd gone. Though, to be fair, they had essentially moved twice, once to the first lean-to, then again to the creek. He even stopped by the first lean-to in order to knock it down and scatter the remains to hide any sign of their presence, just in case someone was looking for them.

As they got close to the site, Scott couldn't help but hope it was pretty much as he'd left it, only worn down by exposure over time, but just to be safe, he decided to be a little cautious. "Hey, Charlotte, let's find a hill overlooking the campsite and avoid walking too close to the camp for now, okay?"

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Charlotte responded through the mouth spider, her voice nearly completely emotionless. "There is a small cliff to the north of the camp. If we take a roundabout way, it will take an extra hour to get up there based on your speed."

Scott nodded. "That sounds perfect."

As they made their way to the cliff, Scott contemplated Charlotte's reactions to his comments about danger to Alice and himself as well as to Charlotte herself. Despite being just about all he could have hoped for, he was more than a little surprised at her reaction. Why was she so loyal to the two of them? She'd only met them a couple weeks ago. Well, to be fair, she'd apparently met them before that, but they only started communicating recently. Even that was all her doing. It would have been simple enough for her to keep spying on them from a distance rather than make contact, and yet she'd apparently grown an entire body for just that purpose. Then, looking at the spider's mouth, he reminded himself that it was actually multiple bodies of varying complexity. And the one he thought of as Charlotte specifically seemed to be one of her most complex bodies. Though, as evident by the giant bladed spider she'd brought out that one time to chop wood, there were still probably several versions of Charlotte he hadn't seen as of yet...

Still, why was she putting so much time and energy into getting to know and help the two of them? Was it just curiosity? Did her species pack bond with almost anything the way humans do? Was she an exception or the rule? It was hard to say, as her motives may simply be too alien for him to understand.

Regardless, so far, Charlotte seemed to be a good friend to the two of them. Better than Scott had given her credit for until now. In fact, she'd been a better friend to them than he'd been to her. Of course, this could still be part of some alien plot to get them to let down their guard, but given how easily she could overpower them if she had any inclination to do so, he felt that was less and less likely as time went on.

However, his musings fell by the wayside as he crested the hill whose cliffside faced toward their old camp. There was clearly a shuttle and several people musing about, though it was hard to make out any details at this distance. Maybe they were just innocent passers-by looking into the remnants of their camp. Or maybe they were rescuers sent when someone found their camp. Or maybe they had less noble intentions. From here, it was impossible to tell. If only he could get closer without being noticed, maybe listen to what was being said.

Of course, someone here did have practice moving about undetected. "Hey, Charlotte? Is there any way you could sneak down and listen to what is being said down there?"

The mouth answered. "Yes, I could, but I only have one listening self near you, so I won't be able to hear what you say while I'm there."

Scott thought about it a moment, then decided. "Alright. We need to hear what they are saying, but being up here without you being able to hear me is a bigger risk than I want to take. So how about I start heading back, and you send your 'listening self' down there. You can relay what's being said through the mouth, but only after we've made it a mile or two away, alright?"

Charlotte answered through the spider mouth again. Its flat, emotionless tone was now the lesser of several evils. "Alright, I'll head out now."

As the listening spider started to move one way and the rest of the spiders the other, Scott spoke up one last time. "Just be careful not to be seen. Even more so than you were being with me and Alice. It's really important they know as little about you as possible!"

With a final assent, the listening spider went one way, and Scott started following the rest of the spiders back toward his new camp. If they were really, really lucky, this whole ordeal might be at its end. If they were not, their survival nightmare may have just gotten far worse...